Coded surface with function flags

ABSTRACT

A region having coded data thereon, wherein at least some of the coded data includes data indicative of a functional attribute of a part of the region. A sensing device for use with such a region, the sensing device for sensing and reacting to data indicative of a functional attribute of a part of the region.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is a Continuation-in-Part Application of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/575,129, filed on May 23, 2000, the entirecontents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to methods, systems an devicesfor interacting with computer systems, and in particular, to codedsurfaces supporting such interaction.

CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS

Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present inventionare disclosed in the following co-pending applications/granted patentsfiled by the applicant or assignee of the present inventionsimultaneously with the present invention:

-   U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/721,895, 09/721,894, 09/722,174, 09/721,896,    09/722,148, 09/722,146, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,826,547, 6,741,871, U.S.    Ser. Nos. 09/722,171, 09/721,858, 09/722,142, U.S. Pat. No.    6,788,982, U.S. Ser. No. 09/722,141, U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,293, U.S.    Ser. No. 09/722,147, U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,339 U.S. Ser. No.    09/722,172, U.S. Pat. No. 6,792,165 U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/722,088,    09/721,862 U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,897,

The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated hereinby reference.

Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present inventionare disclosed in the following co-pending applications/granted patentsfiled by the applicant or assignee of the present invention on 20 Oct.2000:

-   U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/693,415, 09/693,219, U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,558, U.S.    Ser. No. 09/693,515, U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,883, U.S. Ser. Nos.    09/693,647, 09/693,690, 09/693,593, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,474,888,    6,627,870, 6,724,374, U.S. Ser. No. 09/696,514, U.S. Pat. Nos.    6,545,482, 6,808,330, 6,527,365, 6,474,773, 6,550,997

The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated hereinby reference.

Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present inventionare disclosed in the following co-pending applications filed by theapplicant or assignee of the present invention on 15 Sep. 2000:

-   U.S. Pat. No. 6,679,420, U.S. Ser Nos. 09/663,599, 09/663,701, U.S.    Pat. No. 6,720,985    The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated    herein by reference.

Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present inventionare disclosed in the following co-pending applications/granted patentsfiled by the applicant or assignee of the present invention on 30 Jun.2000:

-   U.S. Pat. No. 6,824,044, U.S. Ser. No. 09/608,970, U.S. Pat. No.    6,678,499, U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/607,852 09/607,656, U.S. Pat. No.    6,766,942, U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/609,303, 09/610,095, 09/605,596,    09/607,843, 09/607,605, 09/608,178, 09/609,553, 09/609,149,    09/608,022, 09/609,232, 09/607,844, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,457,883,    6,831,682, U.S. Ser. No. 09/607,985, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,398,332,    6,394,573, U.S. Ser. No. 09/606,999    The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated    herein by cross-reference.

Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present inventionare disclosed in the following co-pending applications/granted patentsfiled by the applicant or assignee of the present invention on 23 May2000:

-   U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/575,197, 09/575,195, 09/575,159, 09/575,132,    09/575,123, U.S. Pat. No. 6,825,945, U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/575,130,    09/575,165, U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,039, U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/575,118,    09/575,131, 09/575,116, U.S. Pat. No. 6,816,274, U.S. Ser. Nos.    09/575,139, 09/575,186, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,681,045, 6,728,000, U.S.    Ser. Nos. 09/575,145, 09/575,192, 09/575,181, 09/575,193,    09/575,183, U.S. Pat. No. 6,789,194, U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,150, U.S.    Pat. Nos. 6,789,191, 6,644,642, 6,502,614, 6,622,999, 6,669,385,    6,549,935, U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,187, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,727,996,    6,591,884, 6,439,706, 6,760,119, U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,198, U.S. Pat.    Nos. 6,290,349, 6,428,155, 6,785,016, 6,870,966, 6,822,639,    6,737,591, U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/575,154, 09/575,129, U.S. Pat. Nos.    6,830,196, 6,832,717, U.S. Ser. Nos. 09/575,189, 09/575,162,    09/575,172, 09/575,170, 09/575,171, 09/575,161, U.S. Pat. Nos.    6,428,133, 6,526,658, 6,315,699, 6,338,548, 6,540,319, 6,328,431,    6,328,425, U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,127, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,383,833,    6,464,332, 6,390,591, U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,152, U.S. Pat. Nos.    6,328,417, 6,409,323, 6,281,912, 6,604,810, 6,318,920, 6,488,422,    6,795,215, U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,109, U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,289    The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated    herein by cross-reference.

BACKGROUND

Systems have been described wherein pen- or stylus-like devices sensetheir own movement relative to a surface, for the purposes of providinginput to a computer system, by detecting information which is invisiblybut machine-readably encoded on the surface. See for example U.S. Pat.No. 5,477,012, U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,412 and PCT application WO99/50787.Visible information intended for human consumption may also be placed onthe surface, although typically in a separate step which therefore mayinclude recording an association between the two kinds of information.The encoded information doesn't include knowledge of the content of thevisible information, and any content-specific feedback provided to auser during the user's interaction with the encoded information must beprovided on the basis of the recorded association. If the recordedassociation is remote or unavailable, timely feedback may be impossibleto provide.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

According to the first aspect, the present invention provides a regionhaving coded data thereon, wherein at least some of the coded dataincludes data indicative of a functional attribute of a part of theregion.

Preferably, the functional attribute indicates at least one of the groupcomprising: a hyperlink, a hypertext link, a button, a drawing field, atext field and a signature field.

Some of the coded data may include data indicative of a location, dataindicative of an identity, or data indicative of an identity and alocation.

The identity may be indicative of a location in the region, or of anidentity of the region.

According to a second aspect, the present invention provides a method ofcoding a region including applying coded data to at least a part of theregion which indicates a functional attribute of a part of the region.

Preferably, the functional attribute indicates at least one of the groupcomprising: a hyperlink, a hypertext link, a button, a drawing field, atext field and a signature field.

According to a third aspect, the present invention provides a sensingdevice for use with a region having coded data thereon, at least some ofthe coded data including data indicative of a functional attribute of apart of the region, the sensing device for sensing and reacting to dataindicative of a functional attribute of a part of the region.

Preferably, the sensing device provides at least one indication to auser when it senses data indicative of a functional attribute of a partof the region.

Preferably, the indication is selected from the group comprising avisual, aural, haptic, tactile, vibratory and any other human sensorymodality.

Preferably also, when the sensing device senses data indicative of afunctional attribute of a part of the region, the sensing devicetransmits, to a computer system, said sensed data or data based at leastpartially on said sensed data.

According to a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a systemincluding:

computer system, and

a sensing device for use with a region having coded data thereon, atleast some of the coded data including data indicative of a functionalattribute of a part of the region,

the sensing device for sensing data indicative of a functional attributeof a part of the region and for transmitting, to the computer system,said sensed data or data based at least partially on said sensed data,

wherein the computer system executes, or commences execution of, afunction related to the functional attribute of the sensed data.

Preferably, the computer system verifies that the functional attributeis consistent with an expected attribute of the respective part of theregion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Preferred and other embodiments of the invention will now be described,by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a the relationship between a sample printednetpage and its online page description;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a interaction between a pen with anattached netpage code sensor attachment, a netpage printer, a netpagepage server, and a netpage application server;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a high-level structure of a printednetpage and its online page description;

FIG. 4 a is a plan view showing a structure of a netpage tag;

FIG. 4 b is a plan view showing a relationship between a set of tagsshown in FIG. 4 a and a field of view of a netpage sensing device;

FIG. 5 a is a plan view showing an alternative structure of a netpagetag;

FIG. 5 b is a plan view showing a relationship between a set of tagsshown in FIG. 5 a and a field of view of a netpage sensing device;

FIG. 5 c is a plan view showing an arrangement of nine of the tags shownin FIG. 5 a where targets are shared between adjacent tags;

FIG. 5 d is a plan view showing the interleaving and rotation of thesymbols of the four codewords of the tag shown in FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6 a is a schematic view showing a tag diagonal relationship betweena nib and a sensing device field of view at zero tilt;

FIG. 6 b is a schematic view showing a tag diagonal relationship betweena nib and a sensing device field of view at maximum tilt;

FIG. 6 c is a schematic view showing a tag off-diagonal relationshipbetween a nib and a sensing device field of view at zero tilt;

FIG. 6 d is a schematic view showing a tag off-diagonal relationshipbetween a nib and a sensing device field of view at maximum tilt;

FIG. 6 e is a schematic view showing a tag parallel relationship betweena nib and a sensing device field of view at zero tilt;

FIG. 6 f is a schematic view showing a tag parallel relationship betweena nib and a sensing device field of view at maximum tilt;

FIG. 7 a is a schematic view showing a set of tags covered by afunctional area bitmap; and

FIG. 7 b is a schematic view showing a set of subregions covered by afunctional area bitmap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Note: Memjet™ is a trademark of Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd, Australia.

In the preferred embodiment, the invention is configured to work withthe netpage networked computer system, a summary of which is given belowand a detailed description of which is given in our co-pendingapplications, including in particular applications No. 09/721,893, U.S.Ser. No. 09/722,142, U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,129 and U.S. Pat. No.6,428,133. It will be appreciated that not every implementation willnecessarily embody all or even most of the specific details andextensions described in these applications in relation to the basicsystem. However, the system is described in its most complete form toassist in understanding the context in which the preferred embodimentsand aspects of the present invention operate.

In brief summary, the preferred form of the netpage system employs acomputer interface in the form of a mapped surface, that is, a physicalsurface which contains references to a map of the surface maintained ina computer system. The map references can be queried by an appropriatesensing device. Depending upon the specific implementation, the mapreferences may be encoded visibly or invisibly, and defined in such away that a local query on the mapped surface yields an unambiguous mapreference both within the map and among different maps. The computersystem can contain information about features on the mapped surface, andsuch information can be retrieved based on map references supplied by asensing device used with the mapped surface. The information thusretrieved can take the form of actions which are initiated by thecomputer system on behalf of the operator in response to the operator'sinteraction with the surface features.

In its preferred form, the netpage system relies on the production of,and human interaction with, netpages. These are pages of text, graphicsand images printed on ordinary paper or other media, but which work likeinteractive web pages. Information is encoded on each page using inkwhich is substantially invisible to the unaided human eye. The ink,however, and thereby the coded data, can be sensed by an opticallyimaging pen and transmitted to the netpage system.

In the preferred form, active buttons and hyperlinks on each page can beclicked with the pen to request information from the network or tosignal preferences to a network server. In one embodiment, text writtenby hand on a netpage is automatically recognized and converted tocomputer text in the netpage system, allowing forms to be filled in. Inother embodiments, signatures recorded on a netpage are automaticallyverified, allowing e-commerce transactions to be securely authorized.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a printed netpage 1 can represent ainteractive form which can be filled in by the user both physically, onthe printed page, and “electronically”, via communication between thepen and the netpage system. The example shows a “Request” formcontaining name and address fields and a submit button. The netpageconsists of graphic data 2 printed using visible ink, and coded data 3printed as a collection of tags 4 using invisible ink. The correspondingpage description 5, stored on the netpage network, describes theindividual elements of the netpage. In particular it describes the typeand spatial extent (zone) of each interactive element (i.e. text fieldor button in the example), to allow the netpage system to correctlyinterpret input via the netpage. The submit button 6, for example, has azone 7 which corresponds to the spatial extent of the correspondinggraphic 8.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the netpage pen 101, a preferred form of whichis described in our co-pending application U.S. Ser. No. 09/721,893,works in conjunction with a netpage printer 601, an Internet-connectedprinting appliance for home, office or mobile use. The pen is wirelessand communications securely with the netpage printer via a short-rangeradio link 9.

The netpage printer 601, preferred forms of which are described in ourco-pending applications PCT/AU00/00561 and PCT/AU00/01281, is able todeliver, periodically or on demand, personalized newspapers, magazines,catalogs, brochures and other publications, all printed at high qualityas interactive netpages. Unlike a personal computer, the netpage printeris an appliance which can be, for example, wall-mounted adjacent to anarea where the morning news is first consumed, such as in a user'skitchen, near a breakfast table, or near the household's point ofdeparture for the day. It also comes in tabletop, desktop, portable andminiature versions.

Netpages printed at their point of consumption combine the ease-of-useof paper with the timeliness and interactivity of an interactive medium.

As shown in FIG. 2, the netpage pen 101 interacts with the coded data ona printed netpage 1 and communicates, via a short-range radio link 9,the interaction to a netpage printer. The printer 601 sends theinteraction to the relevant netpage page server 10 for interpretation.In appropriate circumstances, the page server sends a correspondingmessage to application computer software running on a netpageapplication server 13. The application server may in turn send aresponse which is printed on the originating printer.

The netpage system is made considerably more convenient in the preferredembodiment by being used in conjunction with high-speedmicroelectromechanical system (MEMS) based inkjet (Memjet™) printers,for example as described in our co-pending granted patent U.S. Pat. No.6,428,133. In the preferred form of this technology, relativelyhigh-speed and high-quality printing is made more affordable toconsumers. In its preferred form, a netpage publication has the physicalcharacteristics of a traditional newsmagazine, such as a set ofletter-size glossy pages printed in full color on both sides, boundtogether for easy navigation and comfortable handling.

The netpage printer exploits the growing availability of broadbandInternet access. The netpage printer can also operate with slowerconnections, but with longer delivery times and lower image quality. Thenetpage system can also be enabled using existing consumer inkjet andlaser printers, although the system will operate more slowly and willtherefore be less acceptable from a consumer's point of view. In otherembodiments, the netpage system is hosted on a private intranet. Instill other embodiments, the netpage system is hosted on a singlecomputer or computer-enabled device, such as a printer.

Netpage application server 13 on the netpage network are configured todeliver print-quality publications to netpage printers. Periodicalpublications are delivered automatically to subscribing netpage printersvia pointcasting and multicasting Internet protocols. Personalizedpublications are filtered and formatted according to individual userprofiles.

A netpage printer can be configured to support any number of pens, and apen can work with any number of netpage printers. In the preferredimplementation, each netpage pen has a unique identifier. A householdmay have a collection of colored netpage pens, one assigned to eachmember of the family. This allows each user to maintain a distinctprofile with respect to a netpage publication server or applicationserver.

A netpage pen can also be registered with a netpage registration server11 and linked to one or more payment card accounts. This allowse-commerce payments to be securely authorized using the netpage pen. Thenetpage registration server compares the signature captured by thenetpage pen with a previously registered signature, allowing it toauthenticate the user's identity to an e-commerce server. Otherbiometrics can also be used to verify identity. A version of the netpagepen includes fingerprint scanning, verified in a similar way by thenetpage registration server.

Although a netpage printer may deliver periodicals such as the morningnewspaper without user intervention, it can be configured never todeliver unsolicited junk mail. In its preferred form, it only deliversperiodicals from subscribed or otherwise authorized sources. In thisrespect, the netpage printer is unlike a fax machine or e-mail accountwhich is visible to any junk mailer who knows the telephone number ore-mail address.

Each object model in the system is described using a Unified ModelingLanguage (UML) class diagram. A class diagram consists of a set ofobject classes connected by relationships, and two kinds ofrelationships are of interest here: associations and generalizations. Anassociation represents some kind of relationship between objects, i.e.between instances of classes. A generalization relates actual classes,and can be understood in the following way: if a class is thought of asthe set of all objects of that class, and class A is a generalization ofclass B, then B is simply a subset of A. Each class is drawn as arectangle labelled with the name of the class. It contains a list of theattributes of the class, separated from the name by a horizontal line,and a list of the operations of the class, separated from the attributelist by a horizontal line. In the class diagrams which follow, however,operations are never modelled. An association is drawn as a line joiningtwo classes, optionally labelled at either end with the multiplicity ofthe association. The default multiplicity is one. An asterisk (*)indicates a multiplicity of “many”, i.e. zero or more. Each associationis optionally labelled with its name, and is also optionally labelled ateither end with the role of the corresponding class. An open diamondindicates an aggregation association (“is-part-of”), and is drawn at theaggregator end of the association line. A generalization relationship(“is-a”) is drawn as a solid line joining two classes, with an arrow (inthe form of an open triangle) at the generalization end. When a classdiagram is broken up into multiple diagrams, any class which isduplicated is shown with a dashed outline in all but the main diagramwhich defines it. It is shown with attributes only where it is defined.

Netpages are the foundation on which a netpage network is built. Theyprovide a paper-based user interface to published information andinteractive services. A netpage consists of a printed page (or othersurface region) invisibly tagged with references to an onlinedescription of the page. The online page description is maintainedpersistently by a netpage page server. The page description describesthe visible layout and content of the page, including text, graphics andimages. It also describes the input elements on the page, includingbuttons, hyperlinks, and input fields. A netpage allows markings madewith a netpage pen on its surface to be simultaneously captured andprocessed by the netpage system.

Multiple netpages can share the same page description. However, to allowinput through otherwise identical pages to be distinguished, eachnetpage is assigned a unique page identifier. This page ID hassufficient precision to distinguish between a very large number ofnetpages.

Each reference to the page description is encoded in a printed tag. Thetag identifies the unique page on which it appears, and therebyindirectly identifies the page description. The tag also identifies itsown position on the page. Characteristics of the tags are described inmore detail below.

Tags are printed in infrared-absorptive ink on any substrate which isinfrared-reflective, such as ordinary paper. Near-infrared wavelengthsare invisible to the human eye but are easily sensed by a solid-stateimage sensor with an appropriate filter.

A tag is sensed by an area image sensor in the netpage pen, and the tagdata is transmitted to the netpage system via the nearest netpageprinter. The pen is wireless and communicates with the netpage printervia a short-range radio link. Tags are sufficiently small and denselyarranged that the pen can reliably image at least one tag even on asingle click on the page. It is important that the pen recognize thepage ID and position on every interaction with the page, since theinteraction is stateless. Tags are error-correctably encoded to makethem partially tolerant to surface damage.

The netpage page server maintains a unique page instance for eachprinted netpage, allowing it to maintain a distinct set of user-suppliedvalues for input fields in the page description for each printednetpage.

The relationship between the page description, the page instance, andthe printed netpage is shown in FIG. 3. The printed netpage may be partof a printed netpage document 45. The page instance is associated withboth the netpage printer which printed it and, if known, the netpageuser who requested it.

In a preferred form, each tag identifies the region in which it appears,and the location of that tag within the region. A tag may also containflags which relate to the region as a whole or to the tag. One or moreflag bits may, for example, signal a tag sensing device to providefeedback indicative of a function associated with the immediate area ofthe tag, without the sensing device having to refer to a description ofthe region. A netpage pen may, for example, illuminate an “active area”LED when in the zone of a hyperlink.

In a preferred embodiment, each tag contains an easily recognizedinvariant structure which aids initial detection, and which assists inminimizing the effect of any warp induced by the surface or by thesensing process. The tags preferably tile the entire page, and aresufficiently small and densely arranged that the pen can reliably imageat least one tag even on a single click on the page. It is importantthat the pen recognize the page ID and position on every interactionwith the page, since the interaction is stateless.

In a preferred embodiment, the region to which a tag refers coincideswith an entire page, and the region ID encoded in the tag is thereforesynonymous with the page ID of the page on which the tag appears. Inother embodiments, the region to which a tag refers can be an arbitrarysubregion of a page or other surface. For example, it can coincide withthe zone of an interactive element, in which case the region ID candirectly identify the interactive element.

Each tag contains typically contains 16 bits of tag ID, at least 90 bitsof region ID, and a number of flag bits. Assuming a maximum tag densityof 64 per square inch, a 16-bit tag ID supports a region size of up to1024 square inches. Larger regions can be mapped continuously withoutincreasing the tag ID precision simply by using abutting regions andmaps. The distinction between a region ID and a tag ID is mostly one ofconvenience. For most purposes the concatenation of the two can beconsidered as a globally unique tag ID. Conversely, it may also beconvenient to introduce structure into the tag ID, for example to definethe x and y coordinates of the tag. A 90-bit region ID allows 2⁹⁰ (˜10²⁷or a thousand trillion trillion) different regions to be uniquelyidentified. Tags may also contain type information, and a region may betagged with a mixture of tag types. For example, a region may be taggedwith one set of tags encoding x coordinates and another set, interleavedwith the first, encoding y coordinates.

In one embodiment, 120 bits of tag data are redundantly encoded using a(15, 5) Reed-Solomon code. This yields 360 encoded bits consisting of 6codewords of 15 4-bit symbols each. The (15, 5) code allows up to 5symbol errors to be corrected per codeword, i.e. it is tolerant of asymbol error rate of up to 33% per codeword. Each 4-bit symbol isrepresented in a spatially coherent way in the tag, and the symbols ofthe six codewords are interleaved spatially within the tag. This ensuresthat a burst error (an error affecting multiple spatially adjacent bits)damages a minimum number of symbols overall and a minimum number ofsymbols in any one codeword, thus maximising the likelihood that theburst error can be fully corrected.

Any suitable error-correcting code code can be used in place of a (15,5) Reed-Solomon code, for example a Reed-Solomon code with more or lessredundancy, with the same or different symbol and codeword sizes;another block code; or a different kind of code, such as a convolutionalcode (see, for example, Stephen B. Wicker, Error Control Systems forDigital Communication and Storage, Prentice-Hall 1995, the contents ofwhich a herein incorporated by cross-reference.

One embodiment of the physical representation of the tag, shown in FIG.4 a and described in our co-pending application U.S. Ser. No.09/575,129, includes fixed target structures 15, 16, 17 and variabledata areas 18. The fixed target structures allow a sensing device suchas the netpage pen to detect the tag and infer its three-dimensionalorientation relative to the sensor. The data areas containrepresentations of the individual bits of the encoded tag data. Tomaximise its size, each data bit is represented by a radial wedge in theform of an area bounded by two radial lines and two concentric circulararcs. Each wedge has a minimum dimension of 8 dots at 1600 dpi and isdesigned so that its base (its inner arc), is at least equal to thisminimum dimension. The height of the wedge in the radial direction isalways equal to the minimum dimension. Each 4-bit data symbol isrepresented by an array of 2×2 wedges. The fifteen 4-bit data symbols ofeach of the six codewords are allocated to the four concentric symbolrings 18 a to 18 d in interleaved fashion. Symbols are allocatedalternately in circular progression around the tag. The interleaving isdesigned to maximise the average spatial distance between any twosymbols of the same codeword.

In order to support “single-click” interaction with a tagged region viaa sensing device, the sensing device must be able to see at least oneentire tag in its field of view no matter where in the region or at whatorientation it is positioned. The required diameter of the field of viewof the sensing device is therefore a function of the size and spacing ofthe tags. Assuming a circular tag shape, the minimum diameter of thesensor field of view 193 is obtained when the tags are tiled on aequilateral triangular grid, as shown in FIG. 4 b.

The tag image processing and decoding performed by a sensing device suchas the netpage pen in shown in FIG. 6. While a captured image is beingacquired from the image sensor, the dynamic range of the image isdetermined (at 20). The center of the range is then chosen as the binarythreshold for the image 21. The image is then thresholded and segmentedinto connected pixel regions (i.e. shapes 23) (at 22). Shapes which aretoo small to represent tag target structures are discarded. The size andcentroid of each shape is also computed.

Binary shape moments 25 are then computed (at 24) for each shape, andthese provide the basis for subsequently locating target structures.Central shape moments are by their nature invariant of position, and canbe easily made invariant of scale, aspect ration and rotation.

The ring target structure 15 is the first to be located (at 26). A ringhas the advantage of being very well behaved when perspective-distorted.Matching proceeds by aspect-normalizing and rotation-normalizing eachshape's moments. Once its second-order moments are normalized the ringis easy to recognize even if the perspective distortion was significant.The ring's original aspect and rotation 27 together provide a usefulapproximation of the perspective transform.

The axis target structure 16 is the next to be located (at 28). Matchingproceeds by applying the ring's normalizations to each shape's moments,and rotation-normalizing the resulting moments. Once its second-ordermoments are normalized the axis target is easily recognized. Note thatone third order moment is required to disambiguate the two possibleorientations of the axis. The shape is deliberately skewed to one sideto make this possible. Note also that it is only possible torotation-normalize the axis target after it has had the ring'snormalizations applied, since the perspective distortion can hide theaxis target's axis. The axis target's original rotation provides auseful approximation of the tag's rotation due to pen yaw 29.

The four perspective target structures 17 are the last to be located (at30). Good estimates of their positions are computed based on their knownspatial relationships to the ring and axis targets, the aspect androtation of the ring, and the rotation of the axis. Matching proceeds byapplying the ring's normalizations to each shape's moments. Once theirsecond-order moments are normalized the circular perspective targets areeasy to recognize, and the target closest to each estimated position istaken as a match. The original centroids of the four perspective targetsare then taken to be the perspective-distorted corners 31 of a square ofknown size in tag space, and an eight-degree-of-freedom perspectivetransform 33 is inferred (at 32) based on solving the well-understoodequations relating the four tag-space and image-space point pairs (seeHeckbert, P., Fundamentals of Texture Mapping and Image Warping, MastersThesis, Dept. of EECS, U. of California at Berkeley, Technical ReportNo. UCB/CSD 89/516, June 1989, the contents of which are hereinincorporated by cross-reference).

The inferred tag-space to image-space perspective transform is used toproject (at 36) each known data bit position in tag space into imagespace where the real-valued position is used to bilinearly interpolate(at 36) the four relevant adjacent pixels in the input image. Thepreviously computed image threshold 21 is used to threshold the resultto produce the final bit value 37.

Once all 360 data bits 37 have been obtained in this way, each of thesix 60-bit Reed-Solomon codewords is decoded (at 38) to yield 20 decodedbits 39, or 120 decoded bits in total. Note that the codeword symbolsare sampled in codeword order, so that codewords are implicitlyde-interleaved during the sampling process.

The ring target 15 is only sought in a subarea of the image whoserelationship to the image guarantees that the ring, if found, is part ofa complete tag. If a complete tag is not found and successfully decoded,then no pen position is recorded for the current frame. Given adequateprocessing power and ideally a non-minimal field of view 193, analternative strategy involves seeking another tag in the current image.

The obtained tag data indicates the identity of the region containingthe tag and the position of the tag within the region. An accurateposition 35 of the pen nib in the region, as well as the overallorientation 35 of the pen, is then inferred (at 34) from the perspectivetransform 33 observed on the tag and the known spatial relationshipbetween the pen's physical axis and the pen's optical axis.

The tag structure just described is designed to allow both regulartilings of planar surfaces and irregular tilings of non-planar surfaces.Regular tilings are not, in general, possible on non-planar surfaces. Inthe more usual case of planar surfaces where regular tilings of tags arepossible, i.e. surfaces such as sheets of paper and the like, moreefficient tag structures can be used which exploit the regular nature ofthe tiling.

An alternative tag structure more suited to a regular tiling is shown inFIG. 5 a. The tag 4 is square and has four perspective targets 17. It issimilar in structure to tags described by Bennett et al. in U.S. Pat.No. 5,051,746. The tag represents sixty 4-bit Reed-Solomon symbols 47,for a total of 240 bits. The tag represents each one bit as a dot 48,and each zero bit by the absence of the corresponding dot. Theperspective targets are designed to be shared between adjacent tags, asshown in FIGS. 5 b and 5 c. FIG. 5 b shows a square tiling of 16 tagsand the corresponding minimum field of view 193, which must span thediagonals of two tags. FIG. 5 c shows a square tiling of nine tags,containing all one bits for illustration purposes.

Using a (15, 7) Reed-Solomon code, 112 bits of tag data are redundantlyencoded to produce 240 encoded bits. The four codewords are interleavedspatially within the tag to maximize resilience to burst errors.Assuming a 16-bit tag ID as before, this allows a region ID of up to 92bits. The data-bearing dots 48 of the tag are designed to not overlaptheir neighbors, so that groups of tags cannot produce structures whichresemble targets. This also saves ink. The perspective targets thereforeallow detection of the tag, so further targets are not required. Tagimage processing proceeds as described above, with the exception thatsteps 26 and 28 are omitted.

Although the tag may contain an orientation feature to allowdisambiguation of the four possible orientations of the tag relative tothe sensor, it is also possible to embed orientation data in the tagdata. For example, the four codewords can be arranged so that each tagorientation contains one codeword placed at that orientation, as shownin FIG. 5 d, where each symbol is labelled with the number of itscodeword (1–4) and the position of the symbol within the codeword (A–O).Tag decoding then consists of decoding one codeword at each orientation.Each codeword can either contain a single bit indicating whether it isthe first codeword, or two bits indicating which codeword it is. Thelatter approach has the advantage that if, say, the data content of onlyone codeword is required, then at most two codewords need to be decodedto obtain the desired data. This may be the case if the region ID is notexpected to change within a stroke and is thus only decoded at the startof a stroke. Within a stroke only the codeword containing the tag ID isthen desired. Furthermore, since the rotation of the sensing devicechanges slowly and predictably within a stroke, only one codewordtypically needs to be decoded per frame.

It is possible to dispense with perspective targets altogether andinstead rely on the data representation being self-registering. In thiscase each bit value (or multi-bit value) is typically represented by anexplicit glyph, i.e. no bit value is represented by the absence of aglyph. This ensures that the data grid is well-populated, and thusallows the grid to be reliably identified and its perspectivedistortation detected and subsequently corrected during data sampling.To allow tag boundaries to be detected, each tag data must contain amarker pattern, and these must be redundantly encoded to allow reliabledetection. The overhead of such marker patterns is similar to theoverhead of explicit perspective targets. One such scheme uses dotspositioned a various points relative to grid vertices to representdifferent glyphs and hence different multi-bit values (see AnotoTechnology Description, Anoto April 2000).

Decoding a tag results in a region ID, a tag ID, and a tag-relative pentransform. Before the tag ID and the tag-relative pen location can betranslated into an absolute location within the tagged region, thelocation of the tag within the region must be known. This is given by atag map, a function which maps each tag ID in a tagged region to acorresponding location. A tag map reflects the scheme used to tile thesurface region with tags, and this can vary according to surface type.When multiple tagged regions share the same tiling scheme and the sametag numbering scheme, they can also share the same tag map. The tag mapfor a region must be retrievable via the region ID. Thus, given a regionID, a tag ID and a pen transform, the tag map can be retrieved, the tagID can be translated into an absolute tag location within the region,and the tag-relative pen location can be added to the tag location toyield an absolute pen location within the region.

The tag ID may have a structure which assists translation through thetag map. It may, for example, encoded cartesian coordinates or polarcoordinates, depending on the surface type on which it appears. The tagID structure is dictated by and known to the tag map, and tag IDsassociated with different tag maps may therefore have differentstructures.

Two distinct surface coding schemes are of interest, both of which usethe tag structure described earlier in this section. The preferredcoding scheme uses “location-indicating” tags as already discussed. Analternative coding scheme uses “object-indicating” (or“function-indicating”) tags.

A location-indicating tag contains a tag ID which, when translatedthrough the tag map associated with the tagged region, yields a uniquetag location within the region. The tag-relative location of the pen isadded to this tag location to yield the location of the pen within theregion. This in turn is used to determine the location of the penrelative to a user interface element in the page description associatedwith the region. Not only is the user interface element itselfidentified, but a location relative to the user interface element isidentified. Location-indicating tags therefore trivially support thecapture of an absolute pen path in the zone of a particular userinterface element.

An object-indicating (or function-indicating) tag contains a tag IDwhich directly identifies a user interface element in the pagedescription associated with the region (or equivalently, a function).All the tags in the zone of the user interface element identify the userinterface element, making them all identical and thereforeindistinguishable. Object-indicating tags do not, therefore, support thecapture of an absolute pen path. They do, however, support the captureof a relative pen path. So long as the position sampling frequencyexceeds twice the encountered tag frequency, the displacement from onesampled pen position to the next within a stroke can be unambiguouslydetermined. As an alternative, the netpage pen 101 can contain a pair ormotion-sensing accelerometers, as described in our co-pendingapplication U.S. Ser. No. 09/721,893.

An embodiment of the present invention, in the form of tags which encodefunctional attributes, will now be described.

A tag may contain flags which relate to the region as a whole or to thetag.

One or more flag bits may, for example, signal a tag sensing device toprovide feedback indicative of a function associated with the immediatearea of the tag, without the sensing device having to refer to adescription of the region.

A tag may contain one or more “active area” bits, indicating that aparticular subregion in the vicinity of the tag is in the zone of ahyperlink or other active page element. The sensing device can providefeedback to the user, e.g. by illuminating an “active area” LED,whenever the sensing device is positioned in a subregion correspondingto a particular set bit. The sensing device can provide further feedbackwhen the user clicks in the subregion, to indicate that the click was inan “active” subregion. This can provide confirmation to the user that aclick on a hyperlink succeeded, even if the user is operating offline.The page server which eventually processes the corresponding digital inkinput can know that the user received affirmative feedback at the timethe click was captured, and can thus ensure that the click succeeds evenif a hit test between the click and a precise definition of thehyperlink's zone would otherwise fail. The page server can deduce fromthe digital ink position samples, with reference to the pagedescription, what feedback the user would have received. Alternatively,each position sample can include the corresponding “active area” bitvalue actually encountered.

A tag may also contain one or more “signature area” bits, indicatingthat a particular subregion in the vicinity of the tag is in the zone ofa signature field. The sensing device can provide feedback to the user,e.g. by illuminating a “signature area” LED, whenever the sensing deviceis positioned in a subregion corresponding to a particular set bit. Thiscan provide feedback to the user that a signature is knowingly beingcaptured by the system. On this basis, the user learns to associate thefeedback with a genuine signature field, and thereby learns to mistrusta field purporting to be a signature field by which fails to generatethe proper feedback. Without such feedback a “Trojan horse” can be usedto steal a user's signature via a drawing field masquerading as asignature field. To prevent the inclusion of fake “signature area” bitsin the tags of a drawing field, the bits are automatically generated bythe system. However, to prevent a forged page being used successfully,each position sample ideally includes the corresponding “signature area”bit value actually encountered. If a page server receives unexpected“signature area” bits then it can report the forgery, and at a minimumit can treat the input as a genuine signature, whose digital ink isnever forwarded to an application anyway, but is instead used as thebasis for verifying user identity and generating a digital signature ofform content.

Tags typically have a diameter of a few millimeters. Defining functionalareas (such as active areas and signature areas) at tag resolution maytherefore not be ideal. To overcome this, a number of flag bits within atag can be dedicated to defining a particular functional area, with eachflag bit corresponding to a subregion in the vicinity of the tag. Agroup of such flag bits can define a bitmap whose organizationcorresponds to the spatial organization of the corresponding subregions.The subregions typically fully tile the area of the tag, so that anysubregion of the area of the tag can be included in a functional area.Assuming a subdivision factor of n, i.e. a square tag is tiled with n byn subregions, a bitmap of n² bits is required.

The field of view of the sensing device is designed so that a completetag is guaranteed to be captured at any position on a surface, subjectonly to the allowed tilt range of the sensing device. The center of thefield of view therefore lies inside a complete tag. Furthermore, thefield of view is not designed to guarantee that more than one completetag is imaged at any particular position. Since the nib of the pen isoffset from the optical axis by at least the diameter of a tag, i.e. toprevent it from obscuring the tag, it is possible for its position tolie outside the only complete tag imaged.

As a consequence of the nib being offset from the center of the field ofview, any functional area bitmap within a tag must actually cover anarea larger than the area of the tag.

If the nib offset is given by S and the pen tilt by θ, then the offsetwhen the pen is tilted is given by:S′=S/cos θ

As the tilt increases so does the nib offset, and with a maximumpitch-induced tilt of 48 degrees, as discussed in our co-pendingapplication U.S. Ser. No. 09/575,129, the maximum nib offset is givenby:S′=3S/2

If the tag diameter is k and the nib offset S is minimized, i.e. it isequal to the tag diameter, then the maximum nib offset is approximatedby:S′=3k/2

Based on this assumption, the maximum number of tags (or tag subregions)spanned by the center of the field of view (FOV) and the nib can beanalyzed by considering various arrangements of the center-to-nib vectorwith respect to a square tag array.

In the diagrams the FOV is shown as a circle of appropriate diameter,with a small open circle representing its center. The active tag, whichcontains the FOV center, is shown as a square with a thick outline.Other relevant tags are shown as squares with thin outlines. The nibposition is shown as a filled circle. In diagrams illustrating zerotilt, the center-to-nib separation is the same as the tag diameter,while in diagrams illustrating maximum tilt, the center-to-nibseparation is as given above. The FOV center is always shown in aposition which maximizes the number of tags spanned by the center-to-nibvector. The tag in which the nib lies is shown with four subregions.

When the center-to-nib vector is arranged diagonally to the tags and thepen is at zero tilt, as illustrated in FIG. 6 a, the nib lies in a tagdiagonally adjacent to the active tag. When the pen is at maximum tilt,as illustrated in FIG. 6 b, the nib lies in a further diagonallyadjacent tag. Because the center-to-nib separation increases rapidlywith tilt while the size of the FOV increases only slowly, the tag whichlies between the active tag and the tag in which the nib lies does notenter the FOV soon enough to provide an alternative active tag.

When the center-to-nib vector is arranged off-diagonally to the tags andthe pen is at zero tilt, as illustrated in FIG. 6 c, the nib lies in atag beyond a tag diagonally adjacent to the active tag. When the pen isat maximum tilt, as illustrated in FIG. 6 d, the nib lies in the sametag, but in a different subregion.

When the center-to-nib vector is arranged parallel to the tags and thepen is at zero tilt, as illustrated in FIG. 6 e, the nib lies in a tagtwo tags beyond the active tag. When the pen is at maximum tilt, asillustrated in FIG. 6 f, the nib lies in a tag three tags beyond theactive tag. In this case, however, the tag adjacent to the active tagprovides an alternative active tag, as illustrated in both FIG. 6 e andFIG. 6 f.

FIG. 7 a shows the consequent extent of a functional area bitmap whenthere is one subregion per tag. It has a storage requirement of 25 bits.FIG. 7 b shows the extent of a functional area bitmap when there arefour subregions per tag. It has a storage requirement of 96 bits.

The size of a functional area bitmap can obviously be minimized byminimizing the number of subregions per tag. It can also be minimized bylimiting the allowed tilt range of the pen. Conversely, the size of thebitmap may increase if the nib offset is increased.

Feedback based on functional areas such as active areas and signatureareas can of course also be provided by the pen based on information inthe page description provided by the page server to the pen via the basestation. Although this route has higher latency and doesn't functionwhen the pen is offline, it has the advantage of not consumingpotentially scarce tag data bits.

The present invention has been described with reference to a preferredembodiment and number of specific alternative embodiments. However, itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant fields that anumber of other embodiments, differing from those specificallydescribed, will also fall within the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. Accordingly, it will be understood that the invention is notintended to be limited to the specific embodiments described in thepresent specification, including documents incorporated bycross-reference as appropriate. The scope of the invention is onlylimited by the attached claims.

1. A method of coding a region including applying coded data to a partof the region, the method comprising the steps of: generating coded dataindicative of a functional attribute of the part of the region, arelative location on the region and an identity of the region, printingthe coded data on the relative location on the region using ink that issubstantially invisible to the human eye; and printing visible contenton the relative location, wherein the visible content corresponds to thecoded data; wherein the visible content and the invisible coded data areprinted by the same printer.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein thefunctional attribute indicates at least one of the group comprising: ahyperlink, a hypertext link, a button, a drawing field, a text field anda signature field.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein some of the codeddata also includes data indicative of a location.
 4. The method of claim1 wherein some of the coded data also includes data indicative of anidentity and a location.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the identityis indicative of a location in the region.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the coded data includes a plurality of fixed target structuresand a plurality of variable data areas.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the coded data comprises a plurality of tags, wherein each tagincludes six target structures consisting of a detection ring, anorientation axis target, and four perspective targets.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the overall shape of each particular tag is circular.9. The method of claim 7, wherein the plurality of tags is printed ininfrared-absorptive ink.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein theplurality of tags tiles substantially the entire region.
 11. The methodof claim 7, wherein each particular tag contains 120 bits ofinformation.
 12. The method of claim 7, wherein the coded data of eachparticular tag is redundantly encoded using a Reed-Solomon code.
 13. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the coded data comprises data bitsrepresented by a radial wedge in the form of an area bounded by tworadial lines, a radially inner arc and radially outer arc.
 14. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the region is a netpage.